RV THREAD! Roughing It Smoothly Across The Bodies Of Tent Campers

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > RV THREAD! Roughing It Smoothly Across The Bodies Of Tent Campers

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

I hope this is the right place to talk about converting a van to a "tiny home" to live in for a few years (I work 100% remote)

But not just any van, the plan is to buy one of these as soon as Ford ups the battery size.

Yeah, that a Ford EV Transit.

Right now they have about the same range as my recumbent bicycle ... a bit over 100 miles.

Why go electric? Well, electric vans typically have 110v outlets which makes using induction stoves and heat pumps easy. I also got an EV car in 2020 and I really like driving it. Oh and cost per mile of running the thing.

But yeah, right now the range (on the vans) is not acceptable.

As to conversion I'm looking at some kits specifically for Transits, where you get all the pieces precut and assemble it yourself.

This company looks interesting:

https://www.vantopiavans.com

They have an interesting bathroom/shower setup where the toilet (cartridge or composting) slides out of a compartment so you don't have to shower with a toilet in the room.

If there's a van life thread and this isn't the right place to talk about such things, please let me know.

# ¿ Jun 21, 2022 20:18

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# ¿ May 17, 2024 16:57

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

everdave posted:

The EV transit starts at 43k and I don�t know the tax credit deal. So let�s pretend you got a base $43k and those component kits are usually $5-10k. So you are over $50k to start. For 100 mile range?

Just makes no sense to me but I buy and sell diesel campers for way way less so who knows�

I'm not buying until I see over 250 mile range.

The $25k tax credit is for businesses that buy vehicles over 6000lbs GVW.

quote:

The 6,000-pound vehicle tax deduction is a rule under the federal tax code that allows people to deduct up to $25,000 of a vehicle's purchasing price on their tax return. The vehicle purchased must weigh over 6,000 pounds, according to the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR), but no more than 14,000 pounds.

The question is will "remote office" + "advertising vehicle" qualify.

The alternative is to convert a used diesel Transit box truck like this:

The nice thing about that is the size. I don't know how well it would do on gravel roads or boondocking in general.

# ¿ Jun 23, 2022 20:40

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

Atticus_1354 posted:

Would you be adding any additional power capacity? 100 miles is bad enough without heating your house and cooking your breakfast cutting that down also.

First off, as above it makes no sense until the range is over 250 miles preferably 300.

Look how the Winnebago EV thing had to do on a long trip:

https://newatlas.com/automotive/winnebago-e-rv-electric-camper-road-trip/

quote:

Using the e-RV's estimated 125-mile (201-km) range, the trip had to have involved at least 11 charging stops along the way. At an average of just over an hour of charging per stop, that's over 11 hours worth of charging time to 26 hours of reported behind-the-wheel driving time. Some of those stops certainly coincided with overnight stays or meal breaks, but rolling at an average speed of 53 mph (85 km/h), the team definitely didn't need to stop every 2 hours and 21 minutes to sleep or eat.

Ford spec'd the EV Transit for local deliveries, which makes sense in a way. But you really don't want a camper like that.

So say you have one with 2x the battery pack, that would be about 140kwh. If you want to have 2kw of solar on a roof or even more deployable, you will need some way of feeding that into a level 2 charger for the van. So yeah that means a few kWh battery for that purpose unless you're clever enough to wire the solar to a charger directly with a controller that turns it on or off depending on the power.

The appliances are less of an issue since the van has 110v outlets.

I thought about a Lightning F150 with the 330 mile range with a trailer, but the trailer probabily takes you to 150mile range.

I'm not doing this until at least 2024 so I'm hoping to see some progress in these vehicles.

# ¿ Jun 23, 2022 20:48

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

Ambassadorofsodomy posted:

Theres that one goon in AI that does a bunch of rough terrain/off road poo poo in his minivan too.

Toyota Sienna of death.

I had the same Sienna, color and all, from 1999 to 2003. So excellent.

# ¿ Jun 25, 2022 00:55

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

OK, the best bet appears to be this:

GM Brightdrop EV600: 250 Mile range. AWD. 120kW DC fast charging. Speculation is that it has a 178 kWh battery pack. Uses a 20-module Ultium battery, the same system as on the Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, and Chevrolet Silverado EV.

6' 4" headroom and I like the big sliding rear door.

Since Ford has the Transit EV out reports say this won't be that much more expensive and it's a dedicated build not a conversion.

Don't know about the AC Plugs on it.

Dealer is about 2 hours from me.

# ¿ Jun 25, 2022 01:05

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

everdave posted:

But what does that poo poo cost? I promise I am not looking it up I assume 65-75.

Well, the Transit is about $45k and it's speculated that GM isn't going to make this that much more expensive.

I hope that in 2+ years there will be used ones ...

Of course I could go with the awful 2010 International eStar van. That is truly a joke.

# ¿ Jun 25, 2022 06:34

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

IOwnCalculus posted:

If it's using a battery comparable in capacity to the Hummer and Silverado, and it's a bespoke body built for commercial buyers at relatively low volume, it's probably going to cost closer to $80k than $40k.

Well, like I said the speculation is that they will come close to the Transit EV in price. The truck is being built in Canada. The components are the same stuff GM is using in several vehicles.

I'm just happy that someone has a van that meets my requirements. Maybe in 2024 there will be some used ones.

# ¿ Jun 26, 2022 00:48

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

everdave posted:

I mean you are dreaming a big van with big capacity is going to be 75+

That transit EV is garbage for anything but local deliveries

Maybe so. That's why the IRS tax stuff is critical.

I got access to some specs and it does have two 110v outlets. Also it's much wider inside than a Transit.

83.68� vs. 70.3"

That matters a great deal.

FedEx just got their first delivery.

Oh and Kia has a van (supposedly) in the works, the Kia Mid (and large) PBV. 2025 though but rumored range well over 300 miles.

VideoGameVet fucked around with this message at 06:23 on Jun 26, 2022

# ¿ Jun 26, 2022 06:21

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

everdave posted:

I mean you are dreaming a big van with big capacity is going to be 75+

That transit EV is garbage for anything but local deliveries

The new best-candidate is Canoo. Walmart ordered 7500 of their van and the cost was reported to be under $40k. Their �All Purpose� delivery van is the same platform and has a huge size option. 200 mile range but can be expanded. Clever design.

# ¿ Jul 17, 2022 18:09

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

huhu posted:

Hello thread - just put a downpayment in on a cascadecampers.com van. Now I just need to buy an actual van, get it insured first as a van then as an RV, and drive out to California to get it converted.

That's kinda cool. If Ford every ups the range on the Transit EV, I'm considering using this kit to convert:

https://www.vantopiavans.com

Their $12.500 kit has a very clever bathroom where you can shower without a toilet sitting in the shower :-)

# ¿ Aug 3, 2022 00:12

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

Does that have a black and grey water tank? Just curious.

# ¿ Jan 23, 2023 07:30

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

Steve French posted:

Assuming you�re asking me, yes, 25 and 20 gallons respectively

Thanks. I'm planning on a van convert and will also be boondocking, so I'm looking at Bathroom options.

# ¿ Jan 23, 2023 22:40

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

Are there any stats on Airstream vs. other trailers in terms of gas mileage (or EV Truck range). Does the aero work?

# ¿ Jan 31, 2023 09:18

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

therobit posted:

IDK if the aero works but I do know they last a lot longer.

Yeah, I see VERY old ones on a pretty regular basis.

# ¿ Feb 1, 2023 20:54

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

therobit posted:

My theory is that the all-metal, smooth, riveted, cladding and the rounded shape prevent pooling of water as will as minimize wind forces on the trailer, as well as being tougher than the corrugated metal and the fiberglass used on other campers.

I'd like to see a comparison of range with the F150 Lightning Pickup and an Airstream vs. other trailer.

# ¿ Feb 3, 2023 20:50

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

SpeedFreek posted:

It's got to be better but I really want to know how much better.

There's so much idling done on construction sites just to keep warm or cool and to have somewhere to plug in your laptop. The utility of it ends at moving people and materials currently. For recreational purposes I don't see one being useful for much other than tent camping with current battery tech.

This is why I'm leaning to a Van config. Hopefully the 2023 Mercedes eSprinter with the impressive range.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2023 01:11

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

huhu posted:

Just finished a month living/working/vacationing throughout Baja California, Mexico. Highly recommend it!

DJI_0118 by Esa Foto, on Flickr

DJI_0097 by Esa Foto, on Flickr

2023-02-10 13.14.00 by Esa Foto, on Flickr

That�s the small Dodge Van conversion? I heard it doesn�t have a bathroom, so did you add one?

# ¿ Mar 2, 2023 18:22

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

huhu posted:

Ram Promaster City conversion by Cascade Campers. And I�ve got a portable toilet and shower that collapse.

I like this conversion and the price is good.

I'm planning to go van-life in a few years, hopefully in a EV Van.

For me, I'd go with something small (VW ID-Buzz) but my wife wouldn't go for that.

Looks like Mercedes 2023 eSprinter is the leading candidate.

# ¿ Mar 5, 2023 20:37

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# ¿ May 17, 2024 16:57

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

huhu posted:

https://www.amazon.com/TripTips-Portable-Camping-Plastic-Washable/dp/B088687CJ8/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?keywords=triptips&qid=1678078434&sr=8-8

https://www.rei.com/product/758045/sea-to-summit-pocket-shower

Even if I have a permanent bathroom in the van this makes sense in case someone has the urge and the one bathroom is occupied. It really folds up small.

# ¿ Mar 6, 2023 17:48

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > RV THREAD! Roughing It Smoothly Across The Bodies Of Tent Campers